In the last decade, there has been a growing awareness that women bring enormous value to the workplace, and steps have been taken to get women in the door and at the table. But, has fairer representation translated into actual equality in the workplace? Taking note of the disheartening wage gap, gender bias, and at times, outright misogyny that women face in the business world can make the glass ceiling feel more like a glass cage. These are precisely the problems we took on at our Women in the Workplace event. Prominent female leaders from the Grand Rapids business community attended and offered their stories, frustrations, and wisdom to an upcoming generation of women business leaders. We had two speakers for the evening: Shelley Padnos, VP and Owner, The Padnos Co., and Dean Diana Lawson of the Seidman College of Business.

Family-owned businesses can be a little, well, different. Family dynamics, both helpful and challenging, can and often do permeate throughout the business. In this seminar two practitioners with years of therapeutic and consulting experience facilitated a conversation on the intricacies and intimacies of family-held businesses. With psychoanalytic psychotherapist Marybeth Atwell, MSW, and executive coach and professor Michael DeWilde.

2014 Events

Wednesday, December 10:

"Living Well, Dying Better: Improving End-of-Life Care in America"

Dr. Christian Sinclair, one of the principal authors of the Institute of Medicine's recent "Dying in America" report was at GVSU to comment on major recommendations the study suggested for altering current end-of-life care practices. Dr. Sinclair was joined by other experts in the field as well as representatives from the Michigan Legislature and other institutions intimately tied to this issue.

Thursday, November 6:

"Political Order and Political Decay"

Francis Fukuyama, best selling author and leading public intellectual was at GVSU to present a public lecture on his recent book Political Order and Political Decay. This 2014 Barry Castro Business Ethics Lecture was in partnership with the Hauenstein Center.

Tuesday, September 30:

"Ethics, Constitutional Law, and the Hobby Lobby Case"

Nathan Goetting, Editor-in-Chief of the National Lawyers Guild Review, associate professor of Criminal Justice and Jurisprudence at Adrian College and a constitutional law scholar, was at Grand Valley to address this recent Supreme Court decision and discuss its possible legacy.

Monday, March 24:

"Blinding the All-seeing Eye: Reclaiming the Right to Privacy in the Digital Age"

Nathan Goetting, Editor-in-Chief of the National Lawyers Guild Review, associate professor of Criminal Justice and Jurisprudence at Adrian College and a constitutional law scholar, was at Grand Valley to address recent Supreme Court and Obama administration decisions on privacy and security.

Thursday, Feb. 20th:

"Benefit Corporations in West Michigan - Doing Better Business"

Fred Keller from Cascade Engineering; Chris Lampen-Crowell, the owner of Gazelle Sports; Elissa Hillary, the president of Local First; and representatives from the B Labs in Maryland discussed what Benefit Corporations are (http://www.bcorporation.net/) and what difference they can make to the future of business.

Monday Feb. 10:

"Quantity of Life or Quality of Life?"

Amy Berman was the featured speaker. Ms. Berman is a nurse in New York City who was diagnosed at a young age with inflammatory breast cancer. She gained national attention last year when she published an essay that argued that quality of life was more critical to her than normal treatment protocols, and that she would forgo aggressive chemotherapy. Her primary message is that patient goals of care and preferences have to be taken into consideration in making treatment decisions. She serves as the Senior Program Officer for the John A. Hartford Foundation in New York City (http://www.jhartfound.org/about/overview). She was joined on stage by Dr. John Mulder, an expert in palliative care medicine and Vice-President of Medical Services for Holland Home.

Wednesday, Jan. 22:

Seidman Faculty Lunch Seminar. A facilitated discussion of the future of ethics teaching in the business school.

Thursday Jan. 16:

"Ethics, Corporations, and Inequality."

Dr. Jerry Davis from the Ross Business School at the University of Michigan was here to share his research on inequalities in the American economy relative to the future of large corporations. This was a follow-on to a talk Prof. Davis gave at Seidman last year.

2013 Events

Monday, Nov. 11th: the BEC partnered with Making Choices Michigan to host a conversation titled "Death, Dying, and Discussing Advanced Care Directives" highlighting the importance - and challenge - of drawing up advance directives. A feature of the evening was a simulated advance directive conversation facilitated by a social worker who specializes in these discussions.

Wednesday November 13th: Prof. DeWilde was invited to deliver one of the Hauenstein Center's Wheelhouse Talks on Leadership. "Wheelhouse Talks feature cross-disciplinary, local leaders who share their philosophy and experience. Leaders of today and tomorrow will come together to evoke stories of triumph and tragedy, tradition and innovation, conflict and collaboration, career-pathing and serendipity. Throughout the series, shared leadership values — responsibility, energy, community, and authenticity — will be center stage."

Tuesday November 19th: We held our sixth annual "What Do Employers Want" panel discussion with local CEOs and executives.

September 4th-9th Prof. DeWilde, director of the Center, was in India to give a keynote address at the Academy of Values-Based Management conference in New Delhi. The title of the talk was “The Virtues That Make Possible the Values: A Report From the Field.” Please visit the conference website at http://isolindia.org/bspbp/index.html

Tuesday Oct. 22nd bestselling author Jonathan Haidt was at GVSU to present a public lecture on his provocative and influential new book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion." The BEC was a co-sponsor of his appearance, and hosted two discussions of his book leading up to this talk.

Apr. 8, 2013: Consumer's Energy Vice Presidents Dan Malone & Jon Allan led a case study with the FIMBA students and community members. They took us through a boardroom exercise on how decisions about investment in various energy sources get made.

Oct. 4-6, 2012: The BEC helped sponsor the annual national conference for The Society for EthicsAcross the Curriculum to be held at GVSU.

Sept. 20, 2012: “How Do You Teach Ethics?”
A workshop for all GVSU faculty who are involved in teaching ethics in their courses.

May 23-25, 2012: China European International Business School, Shanghai China: Presentation of a paper titled “Hubris: Then Psychological and Spiritual Roots of a Universal Affliction.” By Prof. DeWilde at the CEIBS Wise Management Conference, Shanghai, China.

April 10, 2012: “Religion and Business”
An invited audience of community leaders, GVSU faculty and administrators. A panel discussion on the role and influence of religious values and beliefs on business practices. Featuring Fred Keller (Christianity), Jeff Padnos (Judaism), and Dr. Mohammad Saleh (Islam).

March 20, 2012: “Public Utility, Not Social Agency?”
Consumers Energy VP Daniel Malone, and CE Director of Environmental Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs Jon Allan facilitated a discussion on various Consumers’ policies and how those affect the public and Consumers employees. Invited audience of business persons, faculty, and FIMBA students.

February 23, 2012: BEC Forum event: William F. Pickard, Ph.D. “The History of Black Owned Businesses in Detroit”
A successful businessman in the metropolitan Detroit area for more than 20 years, currently the chairman and chief executive officer of the Global Automotive Alliance. Committed to community and civic involvement, Dr. Pickard serves as a member of the Board of Directors for numerous organizations such as Malan Realty; Michigan National Bank Corporation, Detroit Renaissance, Detroit Investment Fund, and is a Trustee at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, just to name a few.

February 6, 2012: “Democratic Ownership in a Small Business”
Carl Erickson, founder and owner of Atomic Object, to MBA students

“Women, Ethics and Business"
A panel discussion of ethical dilemmas and challenges women face as they do business. With Christina Keller and JoAnne Perkins of Cascade Engineering, and Janet Knaus of Warner Norcross and Judd.

“What DO Employers Want?’ An annual panel discussion for GVSU students. Representatives of major W. Michigan companies discuss what they look for when hiring and promoting.

Annual Castro Lecture. Prominent business persons, journalists, and academics speak to a host of ethical issues in this popular annual event open to the W. Michigan community. Kurt Eichenwald, Stuart Diamond, and Mary Gentile, from outside the region, and Fred Keller, Shelley Padnos and Jeff Koeze from w. MI have offered their insights.

The Future of Capitalism. A panel discussion/debate which presented four divergent views of capitalism’s future. A standing-room only crowd engaged the speakers for two hours.

The Business of Prisons. Three former inmates spoke to prison reform, education, and the challenge of finding work after release from incarceration.

Ethics, Generational Theory, and Work. A roundtable discussion on how different generations view work, other generations, and the prospect for working together.

The Ethics of Bank Bailout(s). A Forum discussion led by Rich Lievense, Founder of the Bank of Holland.